A pioneering new initiative has been launched to help improve road safety in the county. ‘Operation Snap’ is being rolled out by Warwickshire Police to help motorists report incidents of dangerous or unlawful driving and giving them the opportunity to use their own digital footage from dashcams and other devices to help keep the roads safer across Warwickshire.

The force has joined the National Dashcam Safety Portal, which has the support of Brake (the road safety charity), and Cycling UK (the national cycling charity). The platform allows members of the public to submit digital footage showing potential traffic offences direct to Warwickshire Police. This can range from driving dangerously or carelessly to overtaking on solid white lines, using a mobile phone while driving, ignoring traffic lights or dangerous driving around other road users, such as horse riders and cyclists.

Originally developed and launched by North Wales Police and GoSafe, the portal is now being rolled out across the country by Nextbase, one of the leading providers of dashcam technology.

Reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads is one of the priorities of my Police and Crime Plan and I welcome any initiative that supports the police in being able to tackle dangerous and unlawful driving.

Dashcams have become increasingly popular in the last few years as the technology has become cheaper and more accessible, so it’s only right that the public have a simple way in which they can provide potential evidence of poor or dangerous driving to the police.

The extension of the National Dashcam Safety Portal to Warwickshire is very welcome indeed and I will be looking closely to see how it can support the police and improve the evidence available to take action against motorists who flout the rules of the road which are there for good reason – to keep people safe.

To submit footage to Warwickshire Police visit: www.warwickshire.police.uk/operationsnap

Warwickshire is a relatively safe place to live and most crime types are continuing to reduce. However, we also live in a global community which means we are affected by trends and events that occur at the international level. At present, we need to consider the international threat of terrorism and those people who are pulled into groups that support extremist causes.

In Warwickshire, authorities and communities are working together to deliver the Government’s Prevent Strategy. Prevent is one of four objectives which make up the Government’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism – CONTEST.

The Prevent Strategy has three key objectives:

1. Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it;
2. Prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support; and
3. Work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation which we need to address.

I fund the county's Prevent Officer, who develops relationships with professional partners, community members and leaders in districts and boroughs across Warwickshire, who have in turn become supportive Prevent leads within their own areas.

A series of workshops are being held to help raise awareness of the Prevent programme, to help people understand the vulnerabilities which may make someone susceptible to radicalisation and all types of extremism, as well as local safeguarding and referral processes. Dates and venues can be found below:-

• 10th September 2018: 1.30pm-3.30pm, Old Police Headquarters, Leek Wootton, CV35 7QA
• 13th November 2018: 1.30-3.30pm, Mancetter Memorial Hall, Old Farm Rd, Mancetter, Atherstone
  CV9 1QN
• 24th January 2019: 10am -12noon, The Oasis, First Floor, Rugby Health & Well Being Centre, Drover Close, Rugby, CV21 3HX
• 7th March 2019, 10am -12noon, Saltisford Office Park, Ansell Way, Warwick,CV34 4UL. (Building 1, Ground Floor Conference Room 1)
• 16th May 2019, 1pm-3pm CHESS Centre, 460 Cedar Road, Nuneaton, CV10 9DN

To book a place, register on the WILMA website: https://warwickshire.learningpool.com or contact the Warwickshire Prevent Officer on 01926 412432. 'Train the trainer sessions' are also available - see dates on WILMA.

For more on the work to counter extremism in Warwickshire, visit the https://safeinwarwickshire.com/prevent/ website or sign up to the Safein Warwickshire email newsletter at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKWarwickshire/subscriber/new
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Here are some of the key events in my diary for the next few weeks:

July 16: Student officer confirmation evening, Warwick
July 17-18:  Association of Police and Crime Commissioners meetings, London
July 19: Regional governance meeting, Birmingham
July 25: Trust, Integrity and Ethics Committee, Hindlip
July 30: Joint Audit Committee meeting, Hindlip
Aug 10: Meeting with the Lord Lieutenant, Warwick

In addition, I have a weekly meeting with the Chief Constable to hold the force to account and discuss any arising issues.  You can find details of these meetings here.